Beginner Advice

squidbuddy

Hello everyone! I am a recent graduate from the Savannah College of Art and Design, with a specialty in Level Design. I have been having a lot of trouble trying to find a way into the game design industry, specifically in finding the right programs and projects to work on to improve my resume. Can anyone point to any good resources for design platforms that companies are looking for, and what they look for in specific projects? Additionally, what other skills should I learn to improve my chance of being noticed? Are there any groups online I can search for to get a team building experience? This is my first time posting on Polycount after being recommended by a colleague,  and from what I was told this is a good place to get information and peer review and inspiration for my work.

Brian "Panda" Choi

@squidbuddy
Where's your website/portfolio?

Also, have you worked on any games?

It will help if we can assess where you're at with your development work.

jaker3278

@squidbuddy I to would like to see your current work, an online portfolio is the first step to getting your work noticed. 

squidbuddy

http://www.art-of-aguila.com/

Here is a link to my portfolio. I realize it's pretty bare bones, I'm getting it redesigned shortly. The reason that there's not so much content on it is that I've been going on and off working on projects based on my mood, and I've not been able to complete anything recently, mostly due to either laziness or just not having faith in my work.

sacboi

After reading your initial post, then...  

The reason that there's not so much content on it is that I've been going on and off working on projects based on my mood, and I've not been able to complete anything recently, mostly due to either laziness or just not having faith in my work.

The above reply, it's hardly surprising you're finding things challenging at the moment. I'd recommend that you honestly evaluate whether your intended career path is an attainable end goal.

(..didn't bother clicking the portfolio link)

Eric Chadwick

http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Level_Design

http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Portfolio

Brian "Panda" Choi

Ok, so to clarify, you're looking at level design and world building positions?

jaker3278

To answer your question on choosing the right programs and projects to work on, i would suggest that you work hard to get a good understanding of hard surface modeling and prop making. This has to be your grounding as a 3d artist because all art positions will require you to make objects using hard surface modeling at some point. Choose a program like 3ds Max or Blender and get good at basic modeling. This then will lead to you making better enviroments or will let you then step into other disciplines.  

Thats just my 2 cents.